Zoom H2 recorder

[Cindy Schneider]

Thanks Aidan for all this info. 

I've had a look at the instruction manual and it looks like the internal
mic input is adjustable to low, medium, or high gain. And, the recording
level for the signal on the SD card is also adjustable, on a gradient
scale. So this seems promising! 

Cindy

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Aidan Wilson [mailto:aidan at usyd.edu.au] 
Sent: Monday, 21 January 2008 4:58 PM
To: Resource-Network-Linguistic-Diversity at unimelb.edu.au
Subject: Re: Zoom H2 recorder

Probably should have sent that to the list...

Aidan Wilson wrote:
> Hi Cindy,
>
> I haven't had any primary experience with the H2, but the larger, 
> older H4 has very good reports. Samson, which makes the zooms, tend to

> do a very good job with internal mics and preamps, at least inasmuch 
> as value for money.
>
> It'd still be wise to use an external mic, but the mic input is only a

> single stereo minijack, but that's not so bad. The H4 wins on this 
> point, as it has two 3-pin xlr inputs, which are much better for 
> audio. Another big problem with this is that it's only USB 1.1, 
> meaning transfer to your laptop will be excruciatingly long. But this 
> is easily overcome if you use a USB 2 SD card reader or if your laptop

> has an SD card slot, which most do these days.
>
> I'd normally advise against small devices like this, as, the more 
> compact the components the higher the introduced noise, and the fact 
> that every button press will translate to an audible (and honesty
> irritating) noise in your recording. This is why it's always best to 
> use an external mic.
>
> Another problem I can foresee is that things you'll want to do quite 
> often, level adjustment and so forth, require you to navigate through 
> the menu, which might make setting up for a recording considerably 
> fiddly and time consuming. But all small devices have this problem as 
> the small size means they can't fit analog level dials on the front or

> side. In fact, I'd want to find out exactly how levels are adjusted 
> before buying it. I think some manufacturers cheap out on this and 
> offer a switch from 'low gain' to 'high gain', which clearly is 
> inadequate.
>
> As for power, it takes AA batteries - good, and the battery gauge can 
> be configured to rechargeables - even better. Two AA batteries (non 
> rechargeable, presumably) yields four hours of operation. Not bad, but

> with rechargeables that might come down a little. The firmware seems 
> to support SD cards up to 8GB (or at least that's the implication in a

> few reviews). Depending on which PCM properties you record in (it can 
> be either 16 or 24 bit, 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz), a 2GB sd card (probably 
> the cheapest per GB) will get you around 3 hours on the lowest quality
> (16 bit, 44.1 kHz - CD quality) or just under one hour at the highest 
> (24/96). Though this has less to do with the device itself.
>
> Considering the expectations of small devices, and the drawbacks of 
> some of the others, this seems to do alright. However, I can't shake 
> the feeling that the H4 would be a better performer.
>
>
> Aidan Wilson
> Audio at Paradisec
>
> Cindy Schneider wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I am thinking about purchasing the Zoom H2 for doing fieldwork in
PNG.
>> I'd be interested in hearing about other people's experiences with 
>> this recorder. I'd especially appreciate any feedback on the internal

>> mic. I will have regular access to my laptop, so backup is not a
problem.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Cindy Schneider
>>
>> -------------------------
>> Postdoctoral Research Fellow
>> Research Centre for Linguistic Typology La Trobe University Victoria 
>> 3086 Australia Ph +61-3-9479 6413 Fax +61-3-9467 3053
>>   
>
>

--
Aidan Wilson

PARADISEC
0428 458 969
+61 2 9036 9558
aidan at usyd.edu.au